


Blood Relations

by dragonofeternal



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 14:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17388374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonofeternal/pseuds/dragonofeternal
Summary: Judal had thought Hakuryuu's family was dead, or at the least, out of the picture. So when the opportunity arises to finally meet them, Judal jumps at the idea... but Hakuryuu has good reasons for not wanting to see his relatives, beyond the fact that they can be incredibly embarrassing.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shionsonozaki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shionsonozaki/gifts).



"Ahhh, that was a great meal!" Judal leaned forward in his seat to grin across the table at Hakuryuu. "You always know how to treat me right." 

Hakuryuu smiled softly, setting his fork down. He hadn't eaten much, but Judal didn't worry too much. Hakuryuu was always a light eater- something about self-control and meal planning or some crap like that. Either way, it always meant there was more than enough of his delicious cooking for Judal himself. 

"I do try."

"Fuck that, you more than try. You succeed with style." Judal reached across the small table and stole the last morsel of food off Hakuryuu's plate. "So what were you thinking about for dessert? Cakes? Fruit? Or maybe me?" He winked at Hakuryuu.

Hakuryuu laughed, shaking his head. "How do you still have room in you for more food after all that?" 

"I don't. I just wanted to try to let you be cool for once and pick up on my awesome line." He closed the last bit of distance between him and Hakuryuu with a kiss. Hakuryuu met him with gentle fondness, smiling into the kiss and putting a hand to Judal's cheek.

"Maybe I will have a little dessert then, if time with you is what's on the menu," Hakuryuu whispered against Judal's lips as they pulled away from the kiss. "You're so needy." 

Judal opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the phone ringing. He rolled his eyes, glaring at the wall phone. "Some people are trying to have a good time here."

"Leave it," Hakuryuu said, getting up to go answer and hang up. "I want to spend-" He stopped short when he glanced at the caller ID though. "I'm sorry, I do actually have to take this." Judal watched him hit the button and then quickly disappear into the kitchen, as though that would somehow shield him from Judal's curiosity. 

Judal went over to the couch with a huff. This had better be some life-or-death emergency, and not some sort of work annoyance with Hakuryuu's weird botanist boss calling him to come do CPR on some begonias or something. He pulled out his phone, doing his best to pretend like he wasn't listening intently on the conversation he could only hear half of. 

"I already told her I'm not coming, and I don't appreciate you trying to persuade me otherwise." A pause as Hakuryuu listened to the person on the other end. "Please do not pull that with me. I thought since you were calling it was important, not just more of the same nonse-" Hakuryuu's mounting exasperation was interrupted, and Judal heard him blow a breath out through his nose. "Sister, I told you, the answer is no. I'm not going to whatever weird little reunion mother has planned."

Sister? Oh, now that had Judal's attention. He dropped the facade of pretending to not eavesdrop, getting up to wait in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Sister, I love you. I'm not going. Please don't try to change my min- No, I don't want to talk to mother. I love you. Good night. Good night, Hakuei!" Hakuryuu pulled the phone away from his ear and all but punched the end call button.

"I thought you said your family wasn't around anymore?" 

Hakuryuu startled at the sound of Judal's voice, and Judal waited with raised eyebrows for an answer. They hadn't been on a date in forever, it felt like, and he was eager to know just what the hell was up with it getting interrupted just as they were getting to the good part. Not only that, but it was on _family_ business? Hakuryuu dragged a hand down his face, groaning a little. 

"It's… complicated."

"What, did they rise from the dead three weeks ago or something?" Judal wasn't about to let this drop, and he pressed harder, despite the face that Hakuryuu was making at him. "Seriously, if I had to endure my mom being extra hovery and doting on you for no good reason, then I'm gonna want some answers." 

"We're… on bad terms."

"So they are alive!"

"Unfortunately." Hakuryuu took a deep breath, sitting back down next to Judal and running a hand through his hair. "They.. they live rather far out, and although I had been rather decisive about my decision to never speak to them again, they recently started reaching out to me again. Calls, texts, letters… Just about everything short of physically manifesting in my home." 

"Why?" Judal reached over and twirled a bit of Hakuryuu's hair around his finger. 

"I think… Well. My mother wants to go over her… living will of sorts. Talk about who will take over the family once she's no longer in the picture. Judal, please-" he pushed Judal's hand away, holding it in his instead. "I have no interest in hearing her out, and now she's even got my sister trying to persuade me to come back!"

"So why not go?" Judal squeezed Hakuryuu's hand. "Look, I'll go with you, out of the generosity of my heart and because I want to see this mysterious family you pretended was dead-"

"I never said they were dead, just out of the picture-"

"-led my poor folks on to believe you were all alone in the world!"

"That was because of a misunderstanding."

"Yeah, that you never bothered to clear up!" Judal leaned in to steal a peck on Hakuryuu's scarred cheek. "We'll go see your folks, steal the free food that always happens at big family get togethers, and then ditch! You do your requisite family duty to get them to leave you alone again, I get to meet your mysterious and shadowy relations."

"Absolutely not," Hakuryuu said flatly. "You are not meeting them, under any circumstances."

"Whaaaat?" Judal recoiled, leaping to his feet. "No way. We're going."

"We are not." 

"You know the only way to get me to agree to something is reverse psychology, and I've already decided we're going." 

"You can think whatever you want, Judal," Hakuryuu said with a groan, "but there is no way that you or anyone else is going to get me to go see my relatives."


	2. Chapter 2

Hakuryuu had been right- his family did live far out and away from anything. It had taken all day to get there, driving up through mountains and forests, and the day was already drawing to a close by the time they reached the isolated manor. The car purred to a stop outside the tall gates surrounding Hakuryuu's family estate. Hakuryuu rolled down his window and pressed the red button for the intercom. 

"I'm home," he said, with no small amount of dissatisfaction. There was a brief crackle of static on the other end that may have been a reply before the gate slid open with a slight creak. Hakuryuu sighed, rolling his window back up and pulling the car through.

Judal didn't bother to hide his curiosity or excitement. For years he'd thought these people were dead and gone, and now he found himself way out in the middle of nowhere in a gated estate with Hakuryuu. Hakuryuu could be as grouchy as he wanted- Judal was going to enjoy himself. He pressed his face against the glass, watching the sprawling, manicured grounds pass by as they drew up to the mansion at the heart of it all. The building towered over them like a great, glowering patriarch, its facade turned to a silhouette by the setting sun behind it as Hakuryuu parked in front of the stairs leading up to the doorway.

"Some house!" Judal exclaimed, unbuckling his seat belt and flinging himself from the car. "Did you grow up here? This is crazy! Who lives in a place like this in this day and age?" 

Hakuryuu sighed as he opened his own door and got up. "Yes, I did grow up here. And my family lives in a place like this."

"Well, _obviously,"_ Judal said, sticking his tongue out at Hakuryuu.

Before Hakuryuu and Judal could sass each other further, a figure appeared at the head of the stairs. "I didn't think you'd actually come." The two turned to see a tall, imposing figure there, scowling down at the two of them. Judal offered a quick glance to Hakuryuu, who scowled deeply at the sight of the man, and then back to the man himself. The man gave Judal a quick once over. "You brought a guest." 

Hakuryuu took a step to insert himself between Judal and the man. "Kouen, this is Judal. My boyfriend. Judal, this is my elder cousin, Kouen." 

Judal grinned at Kouen, all teeth. "Nice to meetcha." He stuck out a hand, and Kouen stared at it for a long moment before taking it in a firm handshake. "Damn your hands are cold!" 

"It's a family trait," Kouen replied. "Hakuei will be happy to see you came. She's missed you." 

Judal could feel the negativity radiating off Hakuryuu like a miasma. If they'd been in some sort of comic book, there probably would have been dark clouds full of daggers floating all around him. As it were? Hakuryuu just glowered with his eyes and forced as neutral a face as he could as he brushed past his cousin, dragging Judal along with him. "She knows where to find me if she wants to talk."

Kouen seemed to miss any of Hakuryuu's negativity. "Well, the whole family is here. You should say hi."

Hakuryuu grunted, and the two vanished into the house before Kouen could say any more. 

Judal shot him a look. "Shouldn't we get our bags?" 

"I'll come back out if we need them. I don't intend to stay longer than necessary," Hakuryuu replied. "I think you can see why I didn't want to come back here, and Kouen is hardly the half of it." 

"What? No, he's a hoot. That goatee makes him look like a frat boy who just realized he could grow facial hair!" Hakuryuu shot Judal an incredulous look, and Judal just winked. "Come oooon, you've met my entire embarrassing family. I'm not gonna be phased by some dude who doesn't know how to say a proper polite hello. Come on now, let's meet the rest of the crew!"

Judal turned and made his way off through the halls before Hakuryuu could object again. The sounds of conversation drew him through twisting corridors to a shadowy drawing room where two more people sat, rapt in conversation. The two looked up as though sensing his presence or perhaps, just hearing his loud approach, and Judal reveled in their looks of surprise as he swaggered in and sat in an arm chair across from them. 

The younger of the two spoke first, tilting his head to give Judal a weird look. "Uhhh.... so who let you in here?" 

Judal held out his hand. "Hakuryuu did. I'm his boyfriend, who he tried to tell he didn't have any family."

"Ah," the younger man, who Judal realized looking at him closer was juts short and not actually completely young as hell, looked like this answered everything. "Yeah, that sounds like Hakuryuu. Or, at least, the trying to pretend like we don't exist part. Boyfriend part's a little more far-fetched, buuuut-"

"I'm Koumei," said the elder of the two. He did not offer to shake Judal's hand as Kouen had. "And this is my younger brother Kouha." 

"You two also bros to the muscle-bound goatee guy out there?" Judal said, jerking his head back the way he'd come.

Kouha cracked a big grin that almost rivaled Judal's own for devilish glee. "Oh I _like_ him. You sure you said your Hakuryuu's boyfriend?"

Judal sat up, a hand going to his chest. "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true!" 

Well, maybe he would say it even if it wasn't true, but for this situation it was true enough. This was the whole... meeting the family boyfriend thing. The thing that meant Judal had definitely leveled up in importance. 

Kouha laughed off Judal's indignation. "I'm just saying, you seem a lot more fun and loud than Hakuryuu would go for." 

"He appreciates my frankness." 

"Hmmm.... I guess I could see that," Kouha said, in a voice that suggested he could not see it at all but was more than happy to keep talking to Judal. "So, how long have you been together? Probably not long, right, cuz he used to be with uh, oh what was her name?" 

"That was a while ago, Kouha." Koumei yawned, covering his mouth with a hand. "I'm honestly surprised that Hakuryuu was interested in seeing someone again after how bad that went, though." 

"Aww, I bet you're just jealous he brought a date and you didn't," Kouha laughed. "Maybe if you went out instead of just napping and hanging out with your books and birds-" 

"Mmm, a nap and a book sounds good right about now." Koumei stood, waving to Judal. "I'll leave you to entertain Kouha then. Nice meeting you." 

"Hey!" Kouha whipped around to face Koumei in his chair. "I'm not some kid who needs to be babysat, you know. I'm probably older than this guy!"

But Koumei was already gone, either not hearing Kouha's objections or not willing to pay them any mind. Kouha pouted, sinking into his chair and not doing his case that he wasn't a kid any favors. Judal laughed. 

"When you look all bratty and sulky like that, it doesn't do much to make you seem mature or whatever." 

Kouha sighed, dropping the act and turning his full, voracious attention back to Judal. "Seriously, though, how long have you guys been together and Hakuryuu hasn't told us anything?" 

"Uhhh, a while? We were kind of casual at first, but nowadays we're basically inseparable." A slight exaggeration, but what did that matter? Meeting the family was all about being an exaggerated, better version of himself. Judal found himself somewhat envying Hakuryuu for being someone who actually had a lot of things going for him, like a swanky apartment and a posh, polite personality. "I work at a piercing parlor, so my schedule's a little more flexible than his, but other than that we're, you know, close as close can be."

Kouha smiled, studying Judal's face closely. "Really? Good to hear he's finally been able to open up to someone and be understood." 

There was something in Kouha's tone that set Judal's teeth on edge. It wasn't quite disbelief, but it wasn't necessarily welcoming either. Judal laughed to try and cut the tension he felt mounting. Predatory. That was the word to describe the way Kouha was staring at him, full of a curiosity that somehow bordered on a threat, his eyes travelling from Judal's face to his thick choker necklace, as though he was expecting to see something there.

"Sister," came Hakuryuu's voice from the hall, "Hakuei. I will talk to you in a bit, I just have to find where-" Hakuryuu poked his head into the room, and the relief was written plain on his face. "There you are, Judal. I wasn't expecting you to just… run off like that!" 

"Oh, hey Hakuryuu," Kouha said brightly, tearing his gaze away from Judal's face. "Me and Judal were just getting to know each other! Koumei was here too, buuuut he went off to go take a nap. You know how he is." 

"Of course." Hakuryuu bustled to Judal without another thought to Kouha, who looked _decidedly_ put out to be snubbed by his cousin. "Judal, please don't go wandering off like that, I only came here because you were so insistent. If you-" 

"Hakuryuu!"

Judal watched Hakuryuu's face fall with aggravation, even though his back was turned to the lady who'd just come storming in after him. Even without the context clues of what he'd heard of their conversation, he'd have been able to tell this was some sibling of Hakuryuu's. Her hair was the same blue-black curtain, hell she even had the same mole as him by the corner of her mouth! The intensity of her movement was what really drove it home though, her stride and tone polite but purposeful as she crossed the room to meet her brother.

Hakuryuu stood, turning to meet her with his most placid public smile. "Sister, this is _Judal."_ There was a smug finality to how Hakuryuu said Judal's name that made it clear his presence was the slamming door in the face of whatever argument they'd been having in the hall. "He came along because he wanted to meet the family."

"Yo," Judal said, holding out his hand to her. "Nice to meetcha." 

She took it with barely a moment of hesitation. "It's… It's nice to meet you too, although I would have preferred our first meeting be under better circumstances. I'm Hakuei." 

"Damn, you guys really just picked a naming convention and stuck to it for each set of kids, huh?" Judal laughed, hopping up to his feet. "So when are we doing dinner?"

* * *

Dinner was less a meal for the food (Judal pushed most of it aside after a few bites) and more a feast for the absolute lunacy of getting to see all of Hakuryuu's relations in one place. There were… a lot more than he'd expected, and his cousins and their various significant others crowded the long table, save for one seat at the head left empty. Judal watched as Koumei made himself comfortable, chin resting on his hand, and then started to stare off into space with his eyes vaguely unfocused. 

Judal leaned over to Hakuryuu. "Did he just fall asleep?" 

Hakuryuu glanced over at Koumei. "Yeah, probably." 

"Right at the dinner table! Man, didn't he just get up from a nap?"

"I've long wondered if Koumei is narcoleptic, lazy, or just a sloth pretending to be our cousin." Hakuryuu actually laughed a little at that. "I used to ask if he could take my naps for me when I was very young." 

"Aww, I bet you were cute. Should I grill your sister about it later?" Judal took a couple more bites of his food. "Man this sucks."

"The food's mostly an afterthought," Hakuryuu said. He'd barely touched his either, but as Judal looked around he noticed that very few of Hakuryuu's actual relatives had. Weird. Really fucking weird, honestly. Like Hakuryuu being weird about portion control or whatever was one thing, but the fact that barely anyone in his family ate? 

"So do you guys have some sort of family-wide thing against food, or?" Hakuryuu startled a little and looked embarrassed. "Aaaah, okay, say no more! I'm not gonna dig into whatever's there today. Looks like way too many emotions."

Kouen coughed loud enough to draw attention and looked straight at Hakuryuu. "It's good of you to finally rejoin the family."

Hakuryuu scowled. "I'm just visiting so that Judal can meet all of you. I'm not rejoining anything." 

"So, question," Judal piped up, "if I'm new to joining the family, what sort of stuff is involved? We talking membership dues, bad taste in food, or do I have to grow one of those dumb little goatees, cuz if that's the case, me and Hakuryuu might have to back out again." Hakuryuu cracked a little smile at Judal's dig at Kouen, and Judal felt his heart surge. He could play that role, if it meant cheering up Hakuryuu. "Like seriously, I can be down for a lot of things- murder, blood sacrifice, ugly sweaters… but if the facial hair is mandatory we're gonna have to have a chat." 

Kouha laughed and elbowed one of the girls next to him, whispering for her to get a load of Judal. Kouen just narrowed his eyes further, his nostrils flaring for a moment before he burst into a deep, loud laughter.

"That's quite the person you've brought to join the family, Hakuryuu. I'm sure he'll fit right in." He stood, coming over to tower over Hakuryuu, who stood as well to meet his imposing form. "He is aware of what we do, correct?"

"He's not joining anything, so it doesn't matter." Hakuryuu's words were clipped and cold. "It was a mistake trying to give you all a chance again." He looked around. "Where even is she? If she brought us all here-"

"She's resting for the big meeting she wants to have with all of us tomorrow. Your mother is very old, after all."

"Ah, of course. She's old when it's convenient for her." Hakuryuu crossed his arms. "Was there anything else you needed, Kouen?"

Judal could feel the tension mounting, but before he could get up to interrupt, Hakuei touched his arm lightly. Judal turned to see a look of wonder and disbelief on her face. He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"I just… Do you mind if I talk to you, out in the hall for a moment?" 

Judal glanced at Kouen and Hakuryuu's serious looking discussion, then shrugged. Hakuryuu could handle it. "Sure, why not?"

Hakuei led him out into the hall and down a little ways away from the dining hall before she spoke. "I suppose I just… Is he always like that with you?"

"Who, Hakuryuu?" Judal laughed. "I mean not always- he's not usually picking fights like he's some kind of angsty teenager but-"

"No, I mean-" Hakuei shook her head and made a noise of aggravation, obviously searching for the words to say what she wanted to convey. "Like before. Does he always joke and smile and things like that?"

Judal raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" 

Hakuei put a hand to her mouth, in a gesture that might have been surprise but ultimately did little to hide her smile. "I see. I… I'm sorry Judal. I shouldn't have been so cold to you when we first met." 

"It's fine." Judal waved a hand. "I'm the new guy, I get it, you all have to give me the shovel talk about how much you worry about Hakuryuu even though he barely talks to you, and then I have to prove myself and then you guys like me, or not. I honestly don't care all that much- I just wanted to see what I was missing out on with Hakuryuu's whole secret family gig. And besides," he punched Hakuei playfully in the shoulder, "you got nothing on how bad my family embarrassed me to Hakuryuu! I've got older siblings too, you know." 

"I mean I don't know," Hakuei said, her smile growing a little warmer. "Hakuryuu didn't even tell me he was seeing someone again."

"Oh, well, I sure as shit do! I'm the baby of the family, so even though I'm a grown-ass man they all like to dote on me and act like I'm still a dumb kid they need to fuss over. It's embarrassing."

"You are quite the character, Judal." Hakuei leaned against the wall, gazing wistfully up at the ceiling. "I suppose I just… Hakuryuu has his reasons for being secretive, and the last time he tried to open up to someone it went… poorly. I don't blame her for being upset, but Hakuryuu took it… very badly. I don't want to see him get hurt again, and you seem like a nice boy so I would hate… I would hate for anything to happen to you either." 

"Yikes!" Judal grinned broadly to breeze past all of that. Could this lady get any more cryptic? She was making it sound like Hakuryuu was some sort of secret ax murderer or something, but Judal was pretty sure he would have noticed a corpse or two by now if that was the case. "I, uh, promise I won't do whatever the hell it is you're worried about?" 

Hakuei sighed, obviously acknowledging her attempts to explain things while being as vague as fucking possible as entirely futile. "We should probably go back in before Hakuryuu sees us talking and worries about you."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm going to tell him we had a fun chat. He appreciates my honesty!"

"Honesty? I think you mean being a blunt man who says everything that crosses his mind." 

Judal glanced over and, sure enough, there was Hakuryuu looking… well. Pretty much the same as he'd looked all night: like he'd rather be anywhere else but mostly was just attempting to stick to Judal until that anywhere else became available. Judal gave him a lazy grin and a wave to welcome him to the conversation. 

"Same thing, really. Either way you like it! You wanna head out to get our stuff from the car?" 

Hakuryuu shook his head. "We'll be leaving in the morning. Let's go get some sleep, Judal."


	3. Chapter 3

Judal awoke in the bed to find himself alone. The house was still and quiet, and even in the hall he could see no lights or movement. 

"This better not be some sort of weird nightmare where I'm the last asshole on earth," Judal grumbled, sitting up in bed and climbing out of it. "Hakuryuu probably just went off to… I dunno stretch his legs and stress out somewhere. Maybe take a piss." 

Judal stood there in the dark stillness for a moment, the silence pressing in on all sides, before grabbing his phone and starting off down the hall by the light of its flashlight. Fuck it, he'd just find Hakuryuu and rip him a new one for leaving him alone in this creepy house. He was starting to see with abundant clarity why Hakuryuu didn't want to associate with this place and the people in it. Even when they were being nice, the whole joint was fucking weird, and not in the oh, tee-hee my family's a little quirky way. 

He could hear voices down the stairs, and so he crept down them in hopes of finding Hakuryuu. He did, but Hakuryuu was not alone. There was a woman with him, and her blood red lips and strange, fluid movements made Judal's flesh crawl. She was unplaceable in age- she did not look _old,_ but there was something about the way she held herself and spoke that said that this was someone to be respected and feared and venerated.

"It really is useful of you to have finally decided to settle down," the woman said with smooth, polished malice that made Judal shudder. "It's so much easier to control people who care about something. I bet you'll do anything to keep me from draining that little pet of yours, or filling his head with dross and cotton so that he'll be nothing but a vacant shell of himself." 

Judal couldn't see Hakuryuu's face, but the set of his shoulders was even more defensive than when he had faced off with Kouen earlier. "Mother, I don't know what you're playing at, but keep away from Judal. He's not some plaything you can just toy with because you want to hurt me."

The woman, Hakuryuu's mother, gripped him by the hair and twisted, and Hakuryuu cried out in pain. She kept twisting, and there was something in the way the air rippled in the wake of her touch that made Judal certain there was more going on than what he could see. Hakuryuu's cry of agony tore his face open wider and wider, until a pair of fangs glimmered in the wan light of the hall. Hakuryuu's cries died away, but the fangs stayed as he panted in pain. 

"So cheeky," Hakuryuu's mother hissed through those glimmering blood-red lips of hers. "I won't hurt your little plaything unless you _make_ me, Hakuryuu. But you should put him on a shorter leash, so that he doesn't cause problems for any of us. After that you're going to stay here with me. If you don't, I'll ruin him." 

There was a tiny, tiny part of Judal that wanted to run from what he saw, but self preservation had never really been his strong point. He grabbed a heavy looking vase and pitched it at Hakuryuu's mother.

It smashed into the wall behind her, missing both of them by a mile, but it was more than enough to draw her attention away from Hakuryuu and onto him. She dropped Hakuryuu to the floor, straightening and looking at him as though he were nothing but an insect. That was fine by Judal- he'd had enough people give him that look in the past that it meant nothing by this point. 

"You know you really shouldn't threaten people who aren't there to defend themselves, you old hag." Judal realized he was now sans anything else to throw, which was less than ideal, so he turned his focus to slinging insults instead. "Besides, Hakuryuu doesn't need to listen to your your crap." 

Hakuryuu stared at Judal as though he were mad, which to be honest, he kind of felt right now. Judal just squared his shoulders and stared down his foe, however, unwilling to be intimidated by Hakuryuu's creepy, crazy mother. 

"You think I didn't know you were listening?" She laughed a little, holding a hand coyly up to her mouth. "I was putting on a show for your benefit as well." 

"Well, then you shoulda said hello!" 

She scowled, obviously displeased to find Judal was not willing to show his fear. "I think you know by now then what Hakuryuu really is, what he would do to-"

"Yeah, yeah, he's a vampire, or whatever, can we skip the melodrama? We're leaving, Hakuryuu." Judal strode boldly up to Hakuryuu and his mother and grabbed Hakuryuu's arm, hauling him to his feet. Hakuryuu resisted at first, and his body felt like a lead weight filled with anxious energy, practically vibrating as Judal pulled him up. "You were right, this place fucking blows."

Hakuryuu didn't have much to do but stop resisting, rising to his feet and gaping at Judal. "I… But..."

"No, seriously, let's just get the fuck outta here." Judal glanced around Hakuryuu to look at his mother, who was just watching Judal with a pointed curiosity. "Unless you're gonna try to murder us for pissing off? In which case you can just shove it! We've got more than enough stuff to worry about in the real world, so we don't need any of your weird vampire drama mama bullshit. Let's go." 

He dragged Hakuryuu away from the scene, waiting for something terrible to happen. It would be like in those movies, he thought, where you think they're getting away but then someone gets shot through the heart and dies. Judal had always hated that crap- it just always felt like a cheap trick to make the viewer sad so they thought the movie was deep. Living that tense walk down the hall to the grand doors that would take them back to the outside world, however, felt like the most painful drama imaginable. 

Hakuryuu's mother did not strike though. She simply watched them go, silent until they were almost to the door. "Hakuryuu," she said then. "You know what I expect of you, and you know that this will always be your home, no matter how many times you run away. It was good to see you." 

"Old bitch," Judal grumbled as he pushed open the door. "Don't listen to her, Hakuryuu." 

The cold night air felt like a relief as they left the building. It felt clean, less cloying, and they wordlessly got into the car and drove away. The feeling of waiting for something to go wrong didn't stop until they could see the first blushing ghost of sunrise on the horizon, and Hakuryuu pulled off into a mostly empty rest stop so they could talk.

"Soo…" Judal said, gesturing vaguely at nothing. "What the fuck?"

Hakuryuu let out a breath Judal hadn't realized he'd been holding, as though he was expelling an entire essay's worth of ill feelings. "I'm… I'm sorry, Judal, about all of this. This is why-"

"No, look, it's cool, one step at a time. So first off… What the fuck? And try to remember to breathe this time, you look like you just murdered a village populated entirely by adorable puppies and kittens and it's haunting you night and day." 

Hakuryuu sighed, and Judal watched him try to reign in his emotions some. It worked… okay. It was funny how Judal used to always think Hakuryuu was so composed, but nowadays he seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve. 

"Well, you've figured out some of it. I'm a vampire, a bloodsucking monster of the night. As is the rest of my… family." 

"Kay…" Judal laughed. "Like you said, we got that one nailed down. Is there a how? Or any further explanation? Or just 'Yeah, Judal, we're somehow a family of possibly blood-related vampires, NBD.'" 

"I…. This is no laughing matter, Judal! Vampirism is… It's my family's curse. We all live in my mother's shadow, tied to her life force and forced to serve her ends. We are eternally cursed to be blood drinking monsters that have to listen to that-that _thing_ that calls itself my mother. She's haunted us for generations, but it's only recently that she's expanded her control this much…" 

"Have you always been this dramatic?" Judal punched Hakuryuu in the shoulder. "I guess my follow-up question is why the hell have you been a secret sexy vampire this whole time and not told me?"

"Because I don't see you as food, Judal," Hakuryuu said with a heavy sigh. "And it's not necessarily something people take well."

"Yeah, I heard from Hakuei about your ex or whatever. Tough break man." Judal twirled a piece of his hair around a finger, contemplating it. "I'm not gonna ditch you or like… need you to go ballistic on me, okay?" He scooted a little closer to Hakuryuu, wrapping his arm around his waist and getting under his defenses. "I'm on your team." 

Hakuryuu sighed, leaning into Judal with a sigh. "I'm sure she made it sound very sinister."

"Maybe a little."

"It honestly was just a messy breakup."

Judal and Hakuryuu sat there for a bit, watching the sun rise over the rest stop. Judal leaned in the rest of the way and sealed the distance with a kiss. Hakuryuu stiffened at first, but soon melted into it. When they pulled back, Judal gave him one last affectionate nip on the lower lip.

"Hey. I'm sorry." 

"What?" Hakuryuu squinted at him in confusion.

"I'm sorry your family sucks. I'm sorry I pressured you into coming back out here? Just. Lots of stuff, really. Look, I don't like apologizing and I'm shitty at it, so don't make me draw this out more than I gotta, okay?" 

Hakuryuu laughed, shaking his head. "No, I think I'll relish this a little while longer." 

"Nope, we're done, apology over!" Judal pushed Hakuryuu's face away from him. "Besides, I can think of an apology I deserve, like not getting to find out you were a sexy vampire and thus missing out on getting you to drink my blood." 

"Is that what you want?" Hakuryuu laughed.

"I mean it'd be _nice…"_ Judal grumbled, looking away.

Hakuryuu shook his head, but leaned in anyway. "You are so strange sometimes, Judal. I wonder if you get all your ideas from terrible fantasy books and TV." 

Judal opened his mouth to laugh or agree, but he was cut short by the soft touch of Hakuryuu's lips on his neck. He shuddered from the touch, gasped a little; the anticipation made everything feel ten times as intense, his whole neck bristling with awareness for Hakuryuu. Hakuryuu kissed him, once, twice, each with delicate softness and care. 

The third time, however, his fangs sank deep into Judal's neck, and Judal gasped a little at the sensation. His fangs were so sharp going in that the bite barely stung, but the ache of their intrusion coupled with the feeling of his own hot blood welling up around them made him moan a little more. Hakuryuu drank just a little, sucking at Judal's tender neck and lapping at the wound with his artful tongue until Judal was a weak-kneed quivering mess in his arms. When they kissed again it tasted like coppery blood, and Judal wrapped his arms tight around Hakuryuu. 

"Hey," Judal said softly, "hey uh, I'm sorry your family sucks. But there's more to life than who you're related to, and I'm gonna be here forever, okay?"

Hakuryuu laughed as he went in for another bloody kiss. "Since when have you been such a sap?"


End file.
